Telford father establishes foundation in memory of addicted son

Editor’s Note: This is one of three articles looking at the issue of drugs in the Indian Valley area from Montgomery Publishing, sister publishing company of the Daily Local News.

Matt Cassel was a normal kid growing up in Telford. He had a lot of friends, he liked going to school and he played soccer on the team his dad coached. He went on vacations to Disney World and Ocean City, N.J., with his family. When he grew up, he wanted to become a pro skateboarder.

When he was about 13 or 14, things started to change. Matt, who later graduated from Souderton Area High School in 2008, started smoking. His grades began to drop, and his friend group was infiltrated by a darker group. Over the years, Matt’s personality and even his physical appearance changed. He experimented with hard drugs.

Matt eventually overdosed on heroin and died Saturday, Nov. 17. He was 22.

“Drugs took a normal, loving, adorable kid and turned him into a dead drug addict,” John Cassel, Matt’s father, said.

Now, John is devoting his time to raising awareness and funds for people struggling with drug addictions who need intensive in-house rehabilitation. The Matthew Lang Cassel Foundation, which went live in November, was the idea of Matt’s brother, Ryan Cassel.

Addiction by definition is tough to beat, and John said the system for helping addicts is flawed because health insurance companies only cover about 27 days of rehabilitation. That’s not enough time for a heroin user to beat his addiction, John Cassel said. His foundation will help cover the costs of more days in rehab.

Matt’s story is not unique; his father said there is a rampant drug problem in the area.

“It’s an epidemic,” John Cassel said. “I can name right now more kids in Souderton that on are on drugs — hard drugs — than I had friends as a kid.”

Matt’s funeral drew more than 1,000 people, John said. Since the young man’s death, John Cassel has heard from many people who talk about how lovable Matt was, such a nice kid.

“But he wasn’t often like that when he was home,” John said. “He was only like that when he was sober. I could tell when he was on and off.”

There were other signs that something was wrong with his son. People using hard drugs lose weight and break out with acne. Matt’s eyes looked lazy when he was using drugs, his father said, and he lost almost 30 pounds. Matt also started physical fights with his father, who sometimes had to call the police to resolve the issue.

Matt’s first stint in rehab was a three-month program over the summer between his junior and senior year at Souderton. He stayed at a variety of rehab centers, including a sober house in Allentown, an outpatient rehab program in Lansdale and the Penn Foundation.

After rehab, Matt always came back with a healthier weight and with muscle definition in his arms. He was in good shape. His eyes were brighter.

But then he’d relapse.The sober house in Allentown was full of other kids around Matt’s age who were trying to quit. The program had a zero tolerance policy, though, and Matt got kicked out three times.

When he got kicked out the third time, his parents told him he could stay at their house in Telford if he stayed off drugs and didn’t have people coming over who were involved with drugs.

John Cassel didn’t know who was selling the drugs to Matt, but he knew his son often went to Philadelphia for them. John said he was surprised Matt was never shot doing a drug deal in the city.

Matt was hospitalized, however, for various reasons.

Two and a half years ago, Matt threw a party at his house in Telford when his parents were away. His parents got a call from a hospital saying Matt had been stabbed. Matt later told them the reason was because he was trying to throw out a kid who was doing drugs. John doesn’t buy it.

“You can’t believe anything an addict tells you,” he said. “Everything they tell you is false.”

Matt used to say he never stole from his father, but John said Matt stole anything he could get his hands on to get money for his next high.

“They don’t care who you are. Once they need another high or another fix, they’ll steal anything they can find.”

But Matt was trying to quit. He knew he had a problem — he admitted it when he was sober, his father said. Matt even bought a substance that was supposed to make withdrawal symptoms easier to handle.

“Matt got sucked into it,” John Cassel said. “After a certain point, you’re in so far you can’t get out. It’s like quicksand.”

John describes the last five or six years as a very hard time, always asking himself, “Is today going to be the day?”

“There’s only so much you can take,” John said. “I tried to get him help. I tried to get him to realize he was doing the wrong thing. You always think you didn’t try hard enough, but I don’t think that’s true. I know I tried as hard as I could. It’s an infectious disease. Don’t say, ‘It can’t happen to me.’”

John Cassel is now devoting his time 24/7 to his son’s foundation. It’s not the first time he has tried to help those struggling with drug and alcohol abuse. In 1970, he joined a Lansdale helpline for people struggling with alcohol or drug temptations. He decided to assist the group because he began to see some of his friends develop problems.

John said the hardest thing he ever had to do was write his son’s obituary.

In addition to his father, Matt left behind his mother, Kim; three older brothers, Joe, Michael and Ryan; and his nieces and nephews. He also left behind his 4-year-old son, Brayden Cassel, the “biggest joy” of Matt’s life, John said.

Above the mantel in the Cassel house is a large photo of Matt when he was 3 years old. Also on the mantel is Matt’s blue baby blanket with his name and birthday and the funeral urn containing Matt’s ashes.

John spends his time responding to the many people who have written to him about his son or about their own fears about their children.

Every day, John writes a message to Matt on the “R.I.P. Matt Cassel” Facebook page, which has more than 600 followers.

John started the page shortly after the young man’s death. He wrote on the page one day after Matt’s death, “Hey Matt, I just picked you up and you are resting on the desk in your own room. It’s nice to have you home, Dad.”

John Cassel said the only thing that could have prevented Matt’s death would have been intensive in-house rehab for three to six months or more. Now, his foundation seeks to provide that help for others.

“I don’t care — if I save one person, then I’m equal. And if I save one other person, I’m one up,” John said. “Our goal is to change as many lives as we can. You know, my life has been changed forever because of this. And I guess you can see I miss him. I’ll do whatever I can do.”

For more information, visit the foundation’s website at www.mattcasselfoundation.org.